Mollydooker "The Enchanted Path" Shiraz Cabernet

Mollydooker "The Enchanted Path" McLaren Vale South Australia Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2005  

One of my favorite meals is barbecue ribs with baked potato and peas with a robust Shiraz. We submitted papers for a family milestone event and held a personal mini tribute to my recently departed mother by opening this premium label vintage release with dinner for a perfect pairing.

This is the inaugural release of Mollydooker produced by Sarah and Sparkie Marquis who I recently featured in a post about the producers and the Mollydooker brand in a horizontal tasting of Aussie shiraz's.   

We hold a half dozen vintages of this label and pulled this vintage release, the oldest in our collection, as part of proper cellar management. This reduces the chances of keeping wines past their prime drinking window. Of course, variations in vintages need to also be considered, as some vintages have longer lives than others. Collectors need to follow vintage charts or others' tasting notes for absolute guidance on vintage management. That is a reason I often take care to comment on the status of older bottles in our collection.

This is Syrah (2/3) based accented by Cabernet Sauvignon (1/3). 

This unique blend really works with the Cabernet adding breadth and depth to the big black inky purple colored full bodied Shiraz. The result is a powerful full bodied complex wine with concentrated forward chewy tongue coating black berry and black cherry fruits accented by ripe plum and spice, a layer of vanilla and hints of mocha and anise with fine silky tannins on the long finish.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate gave this wine a whopping 96 points and wrote in their review: "The 2005 Enchanted Path (66% Shiraz and 34% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in primarily American oak, 60% new) is fashioned from relatively young vines. It reveals an amazing opaque purple/blue/black color (always a hallmark of Marquis wines), a full-bodied, powerful, smoky nose, extravagant layers of fruit, spice, glycerin, and extract, full body, superb intensity, tremendous richness, and a seamless personality. It is a textbook example of a southern Australian red at its richest, fullest, and most pure. For consumers with open minds and progressive palates, this amazing red should age beautifully for 10-15 years. Drink through 2021+"

Opaque black inky garnet colored, full bodied, rich, concentrated yet elegant and polished with balanced harmonious black berry fruits exude aromatics that leap out of the glass with notes of plum, vanilla and hints of black pepper, followed by notes of dark chocolate mocha, licorice and spice turning to velvet smooth tannins on a long smooth finish.

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=247775

www.mollydookerwines.com

 

Horizontal Tasting of South Australia Shiraz - Mollydooker "The Enchanted Path", GoDolphin, BCH and '9'

Horizontal Tasting of South Australia Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon Blends - Mollydooker "The Enchanted Path", GoDolphin, Branson Coach House and '9' 

The gala family celebration of life continued with a tasting of a series of Shiraz based wines from South Australia. 

Mollydooker "The Enchanted Path" Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz McLaren Vale 2005

I write about Mollydooker in my blogpost on their premium Shiraz Carnival of Love. As I've written before in these pages, Mollydooker is the handiwork of the then husband-and-wife winemaking team of Sarah and Sparky Marquis. 

Sarah and Sparky Marquis met as students studying winemaking at Roseworthy College. They shared a vision and passion to craft wines people would love. Academically, Sparky was accomplished, winning awards, prizes and trophies including Dux of the College and the prophetic award for the ‘Student most likely to contribute to the Australian Wine Industry’.

In 1994, they debuted as a winemaking team at Fox Creek Wines in McLaren Vale (owned by Sarah’s parents). Their success was immediate, taking out the title of "Bushing King and Queen" for their McLaren Vale Shiraz, a feat they repeated in 1998 and again in 2000. The pair was selected as ‘Winemakers of the Year’ for the wines they produced under the Henry’s Drive and Parson’s Flat labels. They went on to also produce wines for Fox Creek and Shirvington. Robert Parker and Wine Spectator both lavished high praise and highest marks on their handicraft. 

In their first move to starting their own label, the pair produced under the Marquis Philips brand in a partnership with their American distributor Dan Philips. Sarah and Sparky did not own their own vineyards but sourced fruit from selected growers in McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and Padthaway.

Robert Parker wrote “Sarah and Sparky who live by the motto ‘We make wines that make people go 'wow’ through attention to detail and commitment to excellence' have hit pay dirt with their brilliantly packaged wines... with labels that resemble vaudeville acts from the mid 30’s.”

In 2005, they set out on their own launching "Mollydooker", the Aussie slang term for a left-handed person as both Sarah and Sparky Marquis are left-handed. 

Since 2005, they've focused exclusively on making their own exuberant wines which include a range of Shiraz labels and a variety of Shiraz/Cab/Merlot blends, as well as some adventuresome white wines such as The Violinist, a Verdelho varietal. Their branding features whimsical names and labels with cartoonish characters and illustrations resembling carnival or circus posters in the premium labels 'Carnival of Love' (right) and this 'Enchanted Path' (below).

They source their fruit from 116 acres of vineyards at their winery in McLaren Vale where about 50 percent are planted in Shiraz, with the rest made up of Cabernet, Merlot, Semillon and Chardonnay. Most of their wines bear distinctive whimsical and humorous names and labels with cartoon characters. Never-the-less, many of their wines, while modestly-priced, Mollydookers are often highly rated. Their premium label, 'Velvet Glove' Shiraz retails for $175, however.

As I wrote the other day in a these pages, Sparky and Sara split up a couple years ago and Sarah took over the business while Sparky spent time traveling and contemplating his next chapter. Interestingly, Sparky is a racing car enthusiast buddy of my colleague who manages the ANZ APAC region for me from down there in Adelaide. I'll hope to meet him through our mutual acquaintance if and when I travel there on business, or better, on a wine trip.

Mollydooker "The Enchanted Path" Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz McLaren Vale 2005

This is Syrah (2/3) based accented by Cabernet Sauvignon (1/3). 

This unique blend really works with the Cabernet adding breadth and depth to the big black inky purple colored full bodied Shiraz. The result is a powerful full bodied complex wine with concentrated forward chewy tongue coating black berry and black cherry fruits accented by ripe plum and spice, a layer of vanilla and hints of mocha and anise with fine silky tannins on the long finish.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate gave this wine a whopping 96 points and wrote in their review: "The 2005 Enchanted Path (66% Shiraz and 34% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in primarily American oak, 60% new) is fashioned from relatively young vines. It reveals an amazing opaque purple/blue/black color (always a hallmark of Marquis wines), a full-bodied, powerful, smoky nose, extravagant layers of fruit, spice, glycerin, and extract, full body, superb intensity, tremendous richness, and a seamless personality. It is a textbook example of a southern Australian red at its richest, fullest, and most pure. For consumers with open minds and progressive palates, this amazing red should age beautifully for 10-15 years. Drink through 2021+

Opaque black inky garnet colored, full bodied, rich, thick concentrated yet balanced harmonious black berry fruits exude aromatics that leap out of the glass with notes of plum, vanilla and black pepper, followed by notes of mocha and licorice flavors of vanilla and dark chocolate are accented with spice and black pepper. Velvet smooth tannins are accented by long pronounced notes of vanilla and spice. 

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=247775

For a comparison tasting, we opened another South Australia Cabernet-Shiraz Blend from the same 2005 vintage.

Ben Glaetzer Godolphin South Australia Barossa Valley Cabernet-Shiraz Red Blend  2005

This label was awarded 95 by points James Halliday, 94 points Wine Enthusiast, 93 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Vinou.s 

This is another blend of Shiraz, 80%, from 85-year-old vines, and Cabernet Sauvignon, 20%, from 60-year-old vines, aged in 100% new oak. 

Deep inky black dark garnet-purple colored, medium-full bodied, complex, intense, concentrated black berry black raspberry and blueberry fruits with notes of graphite, cassis, pain grille, vanilla and spice turning to a long lush smooth tannin laced nicely balanced oak finish. This had a very similar profile as the Enchanted Path but lacked its harmonious balance, elegance and smooth mouthfeel.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=261351

I added to the mix, pulling from the cellar this Marquis Phillips '09' Shiraz from the same era 2007 vintage. I can't help but wonder if and have to presume this is the same Shiraz juice as in the Mollydooker, just without the blended Cabernet. This suspicion is strengthened by the fact this is the last vintage of this label in our cellar, of which we own every release of this wine since its inception. 

 Marquis Phillips '09' McLaren Vale Shiraz 2007

Like the other Marquis Philips/Mollydooker branding, this features a whimsical cartoon characterization, this time of a 'roogle', which is 1/2 eagle, and 1/2 kangaroo, representing the American Australian partnership of Marquis and US distributor and partner Dan Phillips. As noted above, this partnership disbanded and the Mollydooker brand was born, launched in 2005.

Consistent with earlier review notes, "this 2007 vintage '9' is dark, big, full bodied and concentrated. It is not as complex or polished as some of the other vintage releases. In addition to the black berry fruits accented by mocha, tobacco and leather, there is a layer of graphite in this that has an edge that tends to detract from the fruit."

Lacking the blend of the Bordeaux varietal (s) would explain this wine being more single-dimensional and less complex, yet no less bodied or concentrated.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=651009

To extend the horizontal tasting we opened another 2004 South Australian Shiraz.

Branson Coach House Barossa Valley Single Vineyard Greenock Block Shiraz 2004

I discovered and tasted this wine with Wine Manager Bill and the Aussie wine buyer at the wine desk at Binny's in Glen Ellyn back upon release. I liked it so much I bought their entire allocation which was a couple six packs.

This property was taken over by Two Hands after the passing of proprietor Malcolm Asden, the result being these wines are now made alongside Two Hands by their winemaker Matt Wenk. The acquisition was made possible by capital from outside foreign investors.

Along with the winery and brand came eighteen acres of Greenock vineyards planted in mature high quality Shiraz which will continue to be produced under the BCH label. Subsequently, Two Hands wine production is also done at the BCH Greenock facility.

They continue to produce BCH premium single vineyard designated labels Coach House Block Rare Single Vineyard and Greenock Block Single Vineyard Shiraz's sourced from the vineyards that surround the winery.

At sixteen years of age, this is aging gracefully, but starting to show its age with slight signs of diminution of the fruits.

Upon opening it was slightly obtuse with a bit of an edge, but over the course of an hour it opened, softened and became more approachable.

Dark inky purple color, full bodied, thick, chewy layers of aromatic flavors of tangy black fruits, raspberry, black cherry and black currants, accented by tones of clove spice, graphite & hints of creme de cassis on a smooth polished moderate tannin finish.

RM 90 points, two points less than the last tastings back nearly four years ago on Aug 6, 2016 and then Oct 11, 2017. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=246545

 

Marquis Philips "9" McLaren Vale Shiraz

With BBQ rib dinner I pulled from the cellar this hearty aged Aussie Shiraz. This label was the precursor to the now famous Mollydooker. We acquired several vintages of this label upon release and have only a few left, this being the last of this vintage release. This big bold profile is ideally suited for and demands something like tangy barbecue. My journal of tasting notes show we had each vintage from 2000 through 2007 of this label and this was our seventh posting of this vintage release.

Marquis Philips "9" McLaren Vale South Australia Shiraz 2005

Marquis Philips was the label of winemakers Sarah and Sparky Marquis with their whimsical label of that era featuring the 'Roogle' (shown left). The cross between an eagle and kangaroo represented their joint venture with Dan Philips, their American distributor. They disbanded a few years later and started their own label that became the well known Mollydooker brand. They then split up and Sarah took over the business while Sparky spent time traveling and contemplating his next chapter. 

Ironically, Sparky is a racing car enthusiast buddy of my colleague who manages the ANZ APAC region for me from down there in Adelaide. I'll hope to meet him through our mutual acquaintance if and when I travel there on business, or better, on a wine trip.

Robert Parker loved this stuff! WA 96-98 Pts. Upon one release, he said, 'run, don't walk' to your local wine shop to pick this up. "The 2005 Shiraz 9 (a 4,000-case cuvee that spends 18 months in new and one-year-old American oak) reveals a big, toasty, smoky nose, but the oak is beautifully absorbed by extravagant quantities of blackberry and cassis fruit intermixed with licorice, incense, and spice. This full-bodied, powerful, rich, layered stunner should drink well for a decade."

I wrote earlier in a post that this label is not for the feint of heart with its big bold aggressive profile. 

At fifteen years, this still resembled earlier tastings from a decade ago with its super ripe berry fruit bordering on raisiny.  A bit opulent, almost obtuse, the big rich forward powerful super ripe black and blue berry fruits are like cherry-cola accentuated by graphite, mineral, tones of expresso and hints of dark bittersweet mocha chocolate. It doesn't seem to have aged in that time but will certainly not improve further but start to decline, no matter, since this was our last bottle. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=283966

Two Rock Solid Big Reds for Family Celebration

Two Rock Solid Big Reds for Family Celebration - Carnival of Love and Scarlet Love

For grandson Reid's birthday, son Ryan served two spectacular giant red wines, Mollydooker Carnival of Love Shiraz and a Cliff Lede Rock Block Series, Scarlet Love. It was a family gathering of cousins and in-laws, with pizza, DQ Ice Cream cake and snacks on a perfect summer day on the deck and with a bounce house and yard games.

The Mollydooker brand of wines is named for the affectionate Aussie term for 'Left-Hander' - because Sarah Marquis, the powerhouse winemaker based in McLaren Vale Australia, is a lefty!
Prior to Mollydooker, Sarah was involved in various Robert Parker high-scoring wineries including Fox Creek, Henry's Drive, Parson's Flat, Shirvington and her own label with former husband and distributor partner, Marquis Phillips.

The whimsical colorful labels are cartoonish with the premium labels styled as circus posters. This is the premium estate bottled Shiraz.

Mollydooker Carnival Of Love Shiraz 2013

This label was No.2 of the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of the World 2014 (Carnival of Love Shiraz 2012) and has been among 8 appearances of Mollydooker wines in the Wine Spectator Top 100.

This release was awarded 95 Points by The Wine Advocate and 94 Points by Wine Spectator.

This is produced of 100% Shiraz from a single vineyard, the 2013 Carnival of Love was aged in American oak, 97% new.

Winemaker's Notes:

Dark opaque violet with deep crimson hue, this wine bursts from the glass a dense melange of berry fruits, dark plum, licorice, and fragrant spice. The palate displays layers of sweet fruit with creamy mocha oak, black pepper hints and superbly balanced tannins, seeming to last for an eternity.

Very deep purple-black in color, full bodied, dense concentrated, complex, intense nose of blueberry preserves, creme de cassis and warm black cherries, the blackberry fruit is accented by licorice, mocha, vanilla, with notes of baking spices, toast and hints of eucalyptus, turning to supple firm velvety smooth tannins on a very long finish.

We love this style and character profile of wine with intense colour saturation, intense aromas and dense textured, super concentrated and ultra rich palate.

RM 95 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1973768

Cliff Lede Rock Block Series Stags Leap District "Scarlet Love" 2014 

Cliff Lede Estate, Winery (right) and Wine House (left)
as seen from hillside Poetry Inn and surrounding vineyard

The Cliff Lede estate vineyard blocks (shown right) in the Stag's Leap District, called the 'Rock Blocks' as they are named after Cliff’s favorite rock songs.

The name of this blend is derived from Grateful Dead’s "Scarlet Begonias" from the Twin Peaks vineyard and from Cream’s "Sunshine of Your Love" in the flagship steep hillside Poetry vineyard above the Silverado Trail overlooking the estate across the valley.

We've visited the estate several times and our tastings there have been highlights of several of our Napa Valley trips. 

Lede describes this vineyard sources for this wine, "The Cabernet Sauvignon in “Sunshine of Your Love” is planted in shallow volcanic soil and farmed to low yields, contributing concentration and classic Stags Leap character to the backbone of the blend. “Scarlet Begonias” is a small block of Petit Verdot that provides depth, structure, and a luxurious perfume of floral and spice notes."

Ryan gets this label through his Cliff Lede club allocations. This ultra-premium label got 97 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 92 points from Vinous.

This is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

Dark blackish inky purple, full bodied, intense, concentrated, complex yet nicely balanced, elegant, smooth and polished black and blue fruits are accented by graphite, licorice, smoke, leather with a long silky smooth tannin laced finish. 

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2617225

Mollydooker 'Velvet Glove' McLaren Vale Shiraz 2013

Mollydooker 'Velvet Glove' McLaren Vale Shiraz 2013

For our gala family Christmas dinner, Ryan brought this Velvet Glove Shiraz. This is the ultra-premium label of the broad portfolio of Mollydooker of South Central Australia McLaren Vale. We hold a dozen vintages of the range of Shiraz from Mollydooker dating back to their founding years and before when they were bottling under the previous brand Marquis Philips in partnership with their American producer.

Before dinner, for the salad course, shrimp cocktail and a selection of cheeses, I served a special Limited Edition bottling of Piper-Heidsieck Cuvée Brut NV Champagne  from Limited Edition Red Magnum bottles. 

The name "Velvet Glove" refers to "the wine that wraps your entire palate in a ‘Velvet Glove’ of amazing fruit flavours that last forever", according to the producer. It is packaged in a non-standard shaped bottle that comes in a drawstring velvet cloth bag with the Velvet Glove logo embroidered in shiny silver.

The winemaker's notes for this vintage release: "An epic wine of amazing depth, complexity and precise balance. The 2013 Velvet Glove possesses all the flavours in the spectrum, with cherry and plum to the fore, then blackberry and mocha and finally liquorice and allspice. Only at the final moments on the palate does the fruit give way to finely poised tannins which ensure the wine has elegance as well as depth. Vibrant and rich, the Velvet Glove in 2013 creates Wow by combining opulence with finesse." ~ MattWalker-Brown ~

Lisa Perrotti-Brown of www.erobertparker.com Robert Parker's Wine Advocate gave this release a score of 97 points. Legendary Harvey Steiman, publisher and critic for www.winespectator.com ~ Wine Spectator gave it 96 points.

I wrote recently in these pages about lofty ratings for two other ultra-premium Shiraz' from two other Shiraz growing regions, the Northern Rhone and Chile.  

This was dark blackish inky purple colored, full bodied, rich, viscous multi-layered concentrated but seamlessly integrated and perfectly balanced raspberry, blackberry and plum fruits with hints of blue fruits, tones of expresso, spice and hints of menthol with cassis and mocha notes on the long structured firm but smooth fine tannin laced finish.

RM 95 points.

The grapes were grown on the Gateway vineyard in McLaren Vale, barrel fermented and matured in 100% American oak and 100% new.
 
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1986244

https://www.mollydookerwines.com.au/default.aspx 

Mollydooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz 2012

Mollydooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz 2012

One might say this is one of our signature wines for our son Alec, along with 'Alec's Blend from Napa Lewis Cellars. We pulled this from the cellar for sipping with cheese, fruit and chocolate with a Saturday night movie as we prepare to go visit in Alec in NYC this week.

This is a full throttle powerful high octane Shiraz. If you think that is over the top with the superlatives, try this wine. It's actually over the top for my liking and I like big bold style wine. Linda actually likes this style. some Cellartrackers talked about using the Mollydooker Shake on this wine. No wonder the producer introduced the Mollydooker 'shake' where they actually prescribe shaking the bottle before opening to awaken or to settle the fruit! We own and drink a lot of their wine and I have never gotten into the habit of doing so, perhaps tonight we should have!

Reading up on the Mollydooker Shake, it is prescribed only for still red wines of two years of age or less. It is to release the nitrogen in the bottle that they use instead of the normal sulphites commonly used to preserve wines.  Sulphites can cause an allergic asthma type reaction in some people and Mollydooker realise a lot of people are sensitive to them. So, wherever they can, they use nitrogen to protect the wine so that they can reduce the amount of sulphites.

We served an earlier vintage release of this wine at a graduation celebration for Alec back in his college apartment.

This was dark blackish inky purple, full bodied, powerful, rich forward fruit of super ripe savoury extracted raisin, notes of expresso coffee, soy and anise, with a bit of heat with almost a medicinal or metallic layer. I wonder if this is indicative of this vintage or if perhaps we held it a bit too long, or perhaps this is an aberrant bottle. We have some more of this vintage and will watch it carefully.

The pundits and Cellartracker collectors give this 92 points. I give it 88.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1762926

https://www.mollydookerwines.com.au/default.aspx

Carnival of Love and Robert Craig & Stags Leap Napa Cabs

Carnival of Love and Robert Craig and Stag's Leap Napa Cabernets

Visiting son Alec in his tony flat in Chelsea, NYC we went to his neighborhood wine merchant and picked up several bottles for dinner and casual sipping for the weekend.

One of our favorite premium selections for special occasions such as this is Mollydooker Carnival of Love.

This was fabulous with a selection of artisan cheeses before dinner - sharp cheddar, blue and brie with fig jam.

Mollydooker "The Carnival of Love" Shiraz McLaren Vale South Australia 2014

The year 2014 was quite a year for Mollydooker and the Carnival label, the 2012 Carnival was recognized as the #2 Wine in the World and was named Winestate's Wine of the Year for 2014.

Dark inky purple colored, full bodied, firm structured backbone with intense concentrated black and bluc fruits accented by creme de cassis, anise, violets, blackberry liqueur, and hints of mocha, crushed mint, and black peppercorn with an exceedingly long finish.

While bold at 16.5%. alcohol, this still is approachable and nicely balanced.

RM 94 points.

Winemaker's notes:

"Luscious cherry, blackberry and plum jam fruit flavours marry together, forming this powerful yet elegant Shiraz. Made from a selection of McLaren Vale’s premier grapes, its deep colour and fragrant nose leads to quite a voluptuous palate of fruit intertwined with rich mocha, coffee and chocolate, with traces of licorice and toffee. Carnival of Love offers exceptional complexity while remaining balanced and delightful to drink." 

This was rated 95 points by Wine Spectator.
 
The grapes for Carnival of Love are from the Gateway vineyard in McLaren Vale. It was aged in almost entirely new American oak.

https://www.mollydookerwines.com.au/

For dinner Alec prepared rib-eye steaks and brussel sprouts for which we picked up this Robert Craig Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This proved to be an ideal selection as a complement to the cheese and the steaks.

Robert Craig Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

I write this review with many mixed emotions. This is our first tasting of this new label of what was the inaugural release of what Craig called "the next generation of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Robert Craig Winery".

This label replaced Affinity as the entry point of the portfolio as explained by Craig website. "Our primary mission is to produce wines that feature pure site expression, and this new Cabernet Sauvignon bottling is no exception. Selected half from our estate vineyards, half from exceptional vineyards around the valley, we present this plush, beautifully structured wine, with the depth and power you expect from a Classic Napa Valley Cabernet. As Affinity moves to a single-vineyard bottling, this wine steps in to take its place in our portfolio."

Rick, Linda and Robert Craig

Of course we love Affinity and still hold around twenty vintages dating back the inaugural release back in 1993 as the Craig portfolio remains one of our largest holdings in our cellar. We've visited the Robert Craig Winery Estate high above Howell Mountain several times over the years including their release party back in 2009 (shown right).

So Affinity will now be a single vineyard designated label sourced from the Robert Craig La Londe estate vineyard located just south of Stag’s Leap, in the Mt. George Foothills on the eastern side of the Napa Valley. The La Londe estate vineyard has been sourcing exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon for the Craig portfolio since Bob Craig purchased the property back in 1993. Affinity will continue to be a Bordeaux Blend of the Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc.

I approached this wine with great anticipation as the new Craig standard. I must say I was pleased and found it reflecting the style and profile I have come to expect with the Robert Craig brand.

Dark inky purple colored, medium full bodied, firm structured core of blackberry and black raspberry fruits with a layer of spice, hints of graphite mocha and lavender on a lingering supple smooth tannin laced finish.

RM 92 points.

Wine.com gave this wine 93 points - "Beautiful and refined, the 2013 Robert Craig Cabernet Sauvignon excels as a poster child of a superior Napa Valley vintage. Delicious and well-balanced, this wine brings red currants, dried leaves and sweet oak into a perfect synergy of elements. Young at the moment—a pairing with a seared porterhouse steak and a topping of blue cheese would seem to be in order." Wilfred Wong (Tasting date: August 4, 2016, San Francisco, CA)

James Suckling gave this 92 Points and wrote, "Intense aromas of blueberry and blackberry. Hints of minerals. Full body, ultra-fine tannins and a fresh and clean finish. A firm and well-formed red with interest."

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=2221365


Stags' Leap Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Alec picked this up at the local wine shop as his 'go-to' red wine for such occasions. 

Winemaker's Notes: "The 2015 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is rich and dark, with an abundance of blackberry, cherry and dark plum alongside nuances of lifted violet, sweet cinnamon and clove spice. On the palate, the dark berry fruits proliferate with blackberry, plum and cassis, but there is also a beautiful savory quality exhibiting notes of leather, tobacco and earth, giving this Cabernet a classic old-world feel and elegance. Seamlessly integrated oak and refined tannins provide a smooth mouthfeel and add layers of complexity, all wrapping up with a spicy lengthy finish. Incredibly approachable and pleasing upon release, this wine is sure to dazzle and pair well alongside many culinary treats."

Varietal Composition: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, 4% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot 

This was dark garnet colored, medium bodied, full forward complex black berry, raspberry and cherry fruits with notes of graphite, cassis, tobacco, spice and leather with a graceful, smooth silky tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2719006

https://www.stagsleap.com/

Force Majeure Collaboration Series Syrah and Mollydooker Carnival of Love

Force Majeure Collaboration Series Syrah and Mollydooker Carnival of Love

Sis Dr Pat visiting for the holiday, the kids and g-kids came over to visit with the cousins. We shared details and showed pictures of our recent trip to Walla Walla (Washington) wine country and our visit to Force Majeure Vineyards. So, we opened this Force Majeure Syrah to commemorate the trip, for sipping with cheese and fruit plates. Ryan brought over this Mollydooker Carnival of Love to go along.

After meeting Force Majeure winemaker Todd Alexander and marketing, distribution and branding exec Carrie Alexander during the Chicago stop of their promotion tour in 2016, we acquired a selection of Force Majeure Columbia Valley and Walla Walla wines. That set up our Walla Walla Wine Experience 2018 this fall to see the appellation and their vineyards and in-process new winery.

Force Majeure Collaboration Series VII Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Red Mountain 2013

When we met with Todd and Carrie, they told us about the Red Mountain appellation, the smallest in Washington State, but perhaps one of the most select for Rhone and Bordeaux varietals. They also talked of their work in Walla Walla, developing Estate vineyards there, and building a new winery production and hospitality facility.

This vintage release predates Todd's arrival and work at Force Majeure, but it did introduce us to the appellation and terroir driven fruit from there.

This label was produced by Chris Peterson (of Avennia) and was the only vintage of this cuvee that was be made since they have since moved to all estate bottlings.

This 2013 release Collaboration Series VII was a blend of Red Mountain fruits, 96% Syrah, 2% Viognier and 2% Roussanne.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, concentrated and rich black berry and black cherry fruits accented by a layer of chalky minerality with notes of tobacco leaf, pepper, wild herbs, and hints of anise aromas and flavors with firm but approachable smooth tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 92 points. Wine Advocate gave this wine 96 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2323417

https://forcemajeurevineyards.com/wp/

Mollydooker "Carnival of Love" Shiraz McLaren Vale South Australia 2012 

Ryan brought over this big full throttle Shiraz from Mollydooker. At eight years old, it provided an interesting comparison tasting of two diverse styles from two disparate regions of similarly aged Syrahs (Shiraz').  

This is deep purple-black in color, full bodied, powerful, rich, concentrated forward ripe black berry, black raspberry and blue berry fruits with a layer of creme de cassis, anise and dried herbs with notes of lavender and dark mocha with tongue coating firm, structured, lingering tannins on the very long finish.

This is 100% single vineyard sourced Shiraz.

RM 93 points, This got 95 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and from Wine Spectator, and was their #2 on the Top 100 Wines of 2014.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1773715

https://www.mollydookerwines.com.au/default.aspx

Carnival of Love - The Valentine's Day Wine

Carnival of Love - The Valentine's Day Wine

What wine do you serve for an intimate Valentine's Day dinner? Carnival of Love, of course. Especially when its your brides favorite (style) wine! So for an intimate Valentine's evening dinner, we pulled from the cellar the premium Aussie shiraz from Mollydooker with the whimsical cartoonish 'Carnival of Love' label.

I've written in these pages about Mollydooker husband and wife winemaking team, Sara and Sparky Marquis, who happen to both be 'lefties', hence 'Mollydooker', the Aussie term afforded what in America we would call a 'southpaw' or a left handed person. You gotta love our Aussie friends and their sense of humour. They emerged on the American wine scene with Marquis Phillips and their whimsical 'Roogle' or half kangaroo half eagle character for the Australia - American joint venture with their US distribution partnership back around the turn of the century.

After several successful releases, Sara and Sparky set off on their own and never looked back developing an extensive brand and line-up of labels, all with whimsical names and colorful cartoon characters (see select library below - a more complete library is on our winesite Aussie 'M' Mollydooker label library).

Aside their flagship 'Velvet Glove' Shiraz which nears $200, their two premium labels in the release price $80 range are this one, and 'Enchanted Path', a Shiraz and Cabernet blend. Their line includes an extensive collection from an entry level Shiraz to Cabernet, Cabernet-Shiraz blends, Merlot - even a sparkling Shiraz. (This 2005 is currently on offer from K&L, one of the nation's leading wine merchants at $150).

The story of these wines according to the winemaker is: "Our whole family is involved in making our wines, and all the wonderful people who drink them become our friends, so we named this wine Carnival of Love, because the wines bring us together. If you look closely you will notice that the Lefty characters are all included in the label and when you join the Carnival of Love and the Enchanted Path together, the two labels form one beautiful continuous love story."

At these price points, these are not every day wines for us ordinary folks, but wines for special occasions. 'Carnival of Love' has become one of our family tradition wines which we serve at wife Linda's and family birthday parties, since Linda is a Lefty, and we happen to have three family birthdays in the span of several weeks. Hence, its the obvious wine for our Valentine's Day dinner.

Mollydooker have continually won high acclaim with Carnival receiving 95-ish ratings consistently over the years; 2010, RP95, WS94, 2009; WS94, RP93, 2008; WS94, 2007; RP96, WS95, 2006; RP97, WS95. This 2005 release got 98 points from Robert Parker, rarified space indeed for only very special highly acclaimed wines.

Mollydooker "Carnival of Love" McLaren Vale South Australia Shiraz 2005 

This full throttle power packed Shiraz is not for the feint of heart as indicted by its whopping 16.5% alcohol content. Dark garnet colored, full bodied, rich complex concentrated, this exhibits what Parker referred to as "a more earthy, meaty, gamey character with plenty of coffee and damp loam aromas fused with smoked bacon, some iron ore, Chinese plums, a little floral note and even a bit of truffles character coming through". It has a firm structured core of intense dark blackberry, black currant and black cherry fruit accented by spice and notes of anise, ripe raisin and tobacco on the firm but approachable tannins on the lingering finish. 

This is not a wine for sipping but rather it begs for hearty cheese, darkest chocolate or as with our dinner tonight, char-grilled steak. 

I like big firm, forward powerful concentrated wines, and I admit, this is almost too much for my tastes with its high octane, but its certainly a treat for a special occasion such as tonight! 

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=247113

http://www.mollydookerwines.com.au/ 

007 Shiraz-Cab Blends

Ten year old vintage Cab/Syrah Blends highlight tasting

Returning home after returning the Great-grand-parents home after our Christmas holiday gathering, I found sons Ryan and Alec engaged in a comparison tasting of a pair of ten year old 2007 vintage Cabernet/Syrah blends - Lewis Alec's Blend vs. Mollydooker Enchanted Path. What a joy to see son's partaking in my passion of earnest wine tasting. It was remarkable how similar these two wines were being from opposite sides of the globe, California vs South Australia.

I joined them and fetched from the cellar another ten year old South Australian Syrah, Marquis Philips '09' McLaren Vale Shiraz, to compare with the Enchanted Path, for reasons I explain further below.

This is a style of wine that we love and enjoy often with food, cheese, chocolates, or casual sipping. They stand up great to bbq, spicy foods, or simple salads. Both of these were dark inky purple, thick, concentrated, chewy, syrupy and fruit filled accented by spice, clove and sweet oak.

Lewis Cellars Alec's Blend Napa Valley Red Wine 2007

This might also be considered the namesake wine for son Alec who shares his name with Alec Lewis, the grandson of producer Randy Lewis, who was born on the day of harvest and subsequently this wine was named for him and has recurred ever since that inaugural vintage in 1997. We keep a vertical collection of this wine to enjoy when Alec comes home to visit. We just recently consumed our last 1997 inaugural vintage bottle, but still hold ten different vintages in our collection.

I've written much about Lewis wines in these pages as they are family favorites. We visited the Lewis Napa Estate for a private tasting during our Napa Valley Wine Experience this summer.

This '07 Alec's Blend is a blend of 70% Syrah, 20% Cabernet, and 10% Merlot. The alcohol content was 14.7%

Winemaker's notes - "These days drifting the rear wheel of his 4 stroke bike on a dirt oval is Alec's idea of fun, while his 2007 vintage wine is a straight line sprint to pleasure. 70% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, this is one sweet ride, loaded with wild blackberries and laced with mocha, cola, and vanilla oak spice. Super smooth, plush and round, there's plenty of throttle too, with chocolaty tannins and just enough grip to keep the fun serious."

 James Laube of Wine Spectator, gave this 92 points and wrote: "Combines richness with delicacy, offering a firm, subtle mix of plum, red currant, cedar and spice. Gains depth and finesse, with hints of mocha, sage and dried berry. Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now through 2014. 1,400 cases made." (Tasting Highlights, Sept. 14, 2009)"

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=722677

Mollydooker "The Enchanted Path" Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz McLaren Vale 2007

I write about Mollydooker in my blogpost on their premium Shiraz Carnival of Love. As I've written before in these pages, Mollydooker is the handiwork of the husband-and-wife winemaking team of Sarah and Sparky Marquis. Prior to starting their own label the pair produced under the Marquis Philips brand in partnership with their distributor Dan Philips. Previously, they produced award-winning wines for Australian producers including Fox Creek, Henry’s Drive, Shirvington, and others. The term Mollydooker is Australian slang for a left-handed person as both Sarah and Sparky Marquis are left-handed.


Since 2005, they've focused exclusively on making their own exuberant wines which include a range of Shiraz labels and a variety of Shiraz/Cab/Merlot blends, as well as some adventuresome white wines such as The Violinist, a Verdelho varietal. Their branding features whimsical names and labels with cartoonish characters and illustrations resembling carnival or circus posters in the premium labels 'Carnival of Love' (right) and this 'Enchanted Path' (below).

They source their fruit from 116 acres of vineyards at their winery in McLaren Vale where about 50 percent are planted in Shiraz, with the rest made up of Cabernet, Merlot, Semillon and Chardonnay. Most of their wines bear distinctive whimsical and humorous names and labels with cartoon characters. Never-the-less, many of their wines, while modestly-priced, Mollydookers are often highly rated. Their premium label, 'Velvet Glove' Shiraz retails for $175, however.

Like the Alec's Blend above, this is also Syrah (2/3) based accented by Cabernet Sauvignon (1/3), just without the Merlot that comprises 1/3 of the Bordeaux varietal components in the Alec's Blend. Being from South Australia, it is remarkably similar to the profile of the California based Alec's Blend - dark inky purple, rich, concentrated, syrupy, chewy fruit filled. Both share a profile of spicy, clove accents.

This unique blend really works with the Cabernet adding breadth and depth to the big black inky purple colored full bodied Shiraz. The result is a powerful full bodied complex wine with concentrated forward chewy tongue coating black berry and black cherry fruits accented by ripe plum and spice, a layer of leather and hints of anise with fine silky tannins on the long finish.

RM 92 points.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate gave this wine a whopping 95 points and wrote in their review: " The 2007 Enchanted Path, a blend of 67% Shiraz and 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, is aged in mostly American oak, 70% new. Purple/black colored, it has a brooding bouquet of spice box, toasty oak, mineral, espresso, black currant, and blueberry. Structured and powerful on the palate, this dense, rich effort requires 5 to 7 years of additional cellaring and will offer prime drinking from 2014 to 2028. 95+ Points (JSM) (2/2009)."

Wine Spectator gave it 91 points  and wrote: "Big, ripe and focused, offering a blast of cherry and plum, with a welcome floral note that lasts through the long, vivid finish. Has a touch of spice as the finish lingers against fine tannins. (HS) (10/2008)".

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=554810

I added to the mix, pulling from the cellar this Marquis Phillips '09' Shiraz from the same 2007 vintage. I can't help but wonder if and have to presume this is the same Shiraz juice as in the Mollydooker, just without the blended Cabernet. This suspicion is strengthened by the fact this is the last vintage of this label in our cellar, of which we own every release of this wine since its inception.

Marquis Phillips '09' McLaren Vale Shiraz 2007

Like the other Marquis Philips/Mollydooker branding, this features a whimsical cartoon characterization, this time of a 'roogle', which is 1/2 eagle, and 1/2 kangaroo, representing the American Australian partnership of Marquis and US distributor and partner Dan Phillips. As noted above, this partnership disbanded and the Mollydooker brand was born, launched in 2005.

Consistent with earlier review notes, "this 2007 vintage '9' is dark, big, full bodied and concentrated. It is not as complex or polished as some of the other vintage releases. In addition to the black berry fruits accented by mocha, tobacco and leather, there is a layer of graphite in this that has an edge that tends to detract from the fruit."

Lacking the blend of the Bordeaux varietal (s) would explain this wine being more single-dimensional and less complex, yet no less bodied or concentrated.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=651009


We rounded out the tasting with a total departure from the Shiraz, turning to a 'sticky' or a dessert 'ice-wine' from the legendary Inniskillin from the Canadian Niagara Peninsula. This is not only an amazing wine, but it actually complemented the Shiraz' which were big enough to stand up to the comparison, even when going back to comparison taste against it.

Inniskillin Niagara Peninsula Vidal Ice Wine 2004

We tasted and acquired this wine during our visit to the Inniskillin Winery Estate back in 2013 when I had the pleasure of meeting and tasting with the producer.

This was tea or caramel in color, full bodied, thick, unctuous, smooth and nicely balanced with tones of apricot, hints of peach and citrus giving way to a layer of caramel, subdued honey and brown sugar with a lingering smoky finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=128602



 

Mouton, Dominus, Insignia Highlight Big Red Wine Dinner

Mouton, Dominus, Insignia Highlight Beef Tenderloin Big Red Wine Dinner

A 'pour boys' wine dinner was held with wine buddies Dr Dan and Bill C, when Bill and Beth were back in town to celebrate son Drew's baby's christening. We hosted a wine dinner that featured a line-up of ultra-premium classic reds. Highlights of the wine flight included Mouton Rothschild, Joseph Phelps Insignia and Dominus.

I pulled from the cellar 1984 vintage Mouton Rothschild to commemorate Drew's birthyear and paired it with a near year 1986 vintage Dominus. Dr Dan brought a Dominus 2006 and a Phelps Insignia 2007 to punctuate the dinner flight. Bill brought a Constant Cabernet Franc 2007 and a Camiana Howell Mountain Cabernet.  Son Ryan attended and brought a Chateau Calon Segur 1995.

For the opening we served shrimp cocktail and a cheese flight of artisan cheeses with two whites, Lanson Champagne and Ken Wright Chardonnay. To transition to the red flight we served a unique Mollydooker Goose Bumps Sparkling Shiraz.

The ensuing red flight accompanied dinner. Beth brought a dinner salad and Linda prepared her notable spectacular beef tenderloin (shown left) with scalloped potatoes and a medley of grilled vegetables.

For dessert, Linda served a trio of petit fours with mixed fresh berries with which I poured Kracher Scheerube Trockeberrean Auslese (TBA).

If the wine flight looks ambitious, it should be noted that Bill and Beth's sons Will and Matt also joined in the tasting, and Ryan's friend CJ dropped in and joined in during the evening as well. 

The wine flight ....

Pre dinner -
Lanson Champagne NV
Ken Wright Cellars Chardonnay 2009
Mollydooker Goose Bumps Sparkling Shiraz 2006 

Dinner course -
Altamura Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999
Calon Segur 1995
Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1984
Dominus Estate 1986
Dominus Estate 2006  
Joseph Phelps Insignia 2007 
Calera Ryan Vineyard Mt Harlan Pinot Noir 2013.
Camiana Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Constant Diamond Mountain Winery Diamond Mountain District Estate Cabernet Franc 2007

After dinner - dessert / cheese course -
Alois Kracher TBA #12 Zwischen den Seener Scherube 1998 

For brevity, I won't repeat previously featured wines that are featured elsewhere in this blog, but rather will link to those reviews.

Lanson Champagne Brut Rosé Rose Label NV Champagne Blend

We served this label just last weekend at a family dinner. That post is linked here. 

Ken Wright Cellars Washington/Oregon Chardonnay 2009

I discovered Ken Wright Cellars' wines when I traveled to Seattle during a two year engagement there back around the millenium. Since 1994, he primarily has been producing terroir driven vineyard designated Pinot Noirs sourced from more than a dozen different vineyards released under almost as many labels. Ken Wright Pinot Noirs are from nearly a dozen highly regarded sites including Del Rio Vineyard in the Rogue Valley, Ciel du Cheval in Washington's Red Mountain district, and Seven Hills Vineyard in Walla Walla. The Ciel du Cheval vineyard is the prime site for Force Majeure wines, a featured producer of a recent producer tasting posting.

Ken Wright has distinctive branding of its family of vineyard designated Pinot Noirs, with the bottle labels featuring original artwork depicting caricatures or art drawings associated with the history, legend, geography or nature associated with that particular site.

Some Ken Wright vineyard artwork labels are shown here (right).

He also produces a small amount of Chardonnay sourced from a primary vineyard in Washington and this label, a blend sourced from sites in Washington (73%) and Oregon (27%). In recent vintages he has only produced a limited production of two white wines, a pinot blanc and Chardonnay from Celilo Vineyard near White Salmon, Washington.

This was light honey/straw colored, medium body with tones of stone fruits, hint of almond, apricot, ginger or almost a whisper of cognac on the slightly sweet finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1043077

http://www.kenwrightcellars.com/

Mollydooker Goose Bumps Sparkling Shiraz 2006

I often remark in these pages about the Australian sense of humour. This wine defies logic and even description  ... what were they thinking when they produced this? To say this is unique is an understatement. At fifty dollars a bottle, one can get a nice and authentic French Champagne. I don't think their (Champagne's) franchise is in jeopardy with this offering.

Dark purple color, medium full bodied, dark brooding black and blue fruits accented by spice, tones of cassis, pepper and hints of bitter dark chocolate. The bubbly was very subdued leaving us to wonder if this bottle had been compromised and lost some of its fizz. I think so but I vaguely remember our last bottle of this we had a Christmas a while back.

RM 85 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1163061

https://mollydookerwines.com/

The red wine flight ...

Altamura Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

We've had this in the cellar for more than a decade waiting to be unveiled. It could've been held for another decade. A classic Napa Cabernet in every sense, it seems to be at its apex now, not likely to improve with further aging, but showing no signs diminution whatsoever.

In 2009 Wine Spectator wrote "The 1999 California Cabernet vintage was a great success when it was released, delivering many of that decade's best wines. Now 10 years old, the top Cabernets of that harvest have, for the most part, aged the way wine lovers who cellared them hoped they would; time has worked to their advantage."

Founded in 1985 by Frank and Karen Altamura on 400 acres that have been in the family since 1855,  Altamura was the first winery located in the Wooden Valley about nine miles northeast of the town of Napa. Wooden Valley is bordered by the Vaca Range to the east and "Napa Mountain" to the west. Altamura vineyards lie in the southeastern hillsides of Napa Valley at elevations of 700 to 1000 feet. 

The area produces rich concentrated fruit that has been used in well-known labels including Caymus, Groth, Pahlmeyer, Stags Leap and Mondavi. Frank started his winemaking career at Sterling in 1976, then on to Trefethen in 1979, then Frank worked at Caymus with Chuck Wagner and Randy Dunn before setting out on his own.

Altamura said at the time that this was one of the most intense wines they had produced. Dark garnet colored, medium to bodied, concentrated forward bright vibrant expressive sweet black raspberry, black currant and sweet blueberry fruits with tones of mocha, spicy oak and cinnamon, with hints of leather and cigar box with long chewy tongue coated finish of silky smooth soft tannins.

RM 92 points.

A comment from fellow Cellartracker UNIONST from Montclair .. "wine spectator just did a blind retrospective tasting of napa valley cabernets from the 1999 vintage. this wine tied for first, beating out heavy hitters like insignia, bryant family, bond melbury and vecina, spottswoode, viader, silver oak alexander valley and napa valley, harlan, colgin herb lamb vineyard, cakebread, etc."

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=144753

http://www.altamura.com/

Chateau Calon Segur St Estephe 1995

Chateau Calon-Ségur Grand Cru Classe St. Estephe Bordeaux 1995 

Robert Parker says this is one of the great sleepers of the vintage.

Dark ruby/purple colored, medium-full bodied, classic Bordeaux with earthy, leathery black berry and black raspberry fruits accented tones of cassis, cedar and hints of black olive and mocha with a long smooth floral finish

RM 92 points. 

97 points James Suckling; 95 points Wine Spectator'; 92 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate; 91 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar







Château Mouton Rothschild 1984

Considering the lackluster poor 1984 vintage in Bordeaux, this is remarkably holding its own after 32 years and not only still has life left but showed quite well and was impressive drinking. I should've known it would still be holding up but couldn't be sure. Glad I pulled it out to try but wish I had more. Such a classic wine, I remember purchasing it even though  its been almost three decades, and I remember drinking the other bottles back at the time. This is our last bottle of this vintage. 

Slightly opaque, dark garnet colored, medium bodied, nicely balanced, classic Bordeaux characteristics of dark berry, plum and black cherry fruits, tones of floral, earthy leather with cigar box and tobacco. leaf with light mouthfeel, silky smooth polished tannins on a moderate subdued pleasant finish.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=11506


 Dominus Estate Red Wine 1986

Like the Mouton Rothschild, Dominus is one of the world's great classic Bordeaux varietal wines.

It is the work of legendary Christian Moueix, son of Jean-Pierre Moueix, the famed wine merchant and French producer of classic Bordeaux wines including Chateaux Petrus, La Fleur-Petrus, Trotanoy in Pomerol and Magdelaine in Saint Emilion.

Christian Moueix discovered Napa Valley and is wines in the late 1960s, while attending the University of California in nearby Davis. In 1981, he discovered the historic Napanook vineyard near Yountville that had been the source of fruit for some of the finest Napa Valley wines in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1982,  he entered into a partnership to develop the vineyard and, in 1995, became its sole owner. He named the Estate and wine ‘Dominus’ or’ Lord of the Estate’ in Latin, to underscore his commitment to stewardship of the land. 

I remember the anticipation of tasting this wine when I purchased a case of the 1986 vintage upon release back at the time. Friends and family have often heard me tell this story .... I tasted a bottle from the case every couple of years with similar results ... 'interesting, complex, tightly wound, closed and uninspiring, is that all there is to this wine?' Then after about twenty years, I tasted another bottle and exclaimed, "Ahah, THIS is what this wine is supposed to taste like!"

Impatience was/will be punished, and patience will be rewarded, for those that had/have the resolve to put this wine aside and let it age gracefully to develop, finally settle, and open to reveal its true character and potential. But by then, when it finally presented its potential, I only had a couple bottles left. This is one of those remaining bottles, which at age 30 is better than ever, now revealing its full potential and true character.

The 1986 Dominus Estate was the fourth vintage produced by the John Daniel Society. The grapes were grown solely at the Napanook Vineyard in Yountville, along Hwy 29 in southwest Napa Valley. This vintage was the first of the “second series” of Dominus Estate with the 1986 through 1988 vintages using Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc in the blend. - the '86 release being 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Merlot.

Those early vintages had distinctive branding of a label art series with each vintage label having a portrait of producer Christian Moueix by well-known American artist Jim Dine. This series ended in 1991 with subsequent labels all being the simple plain design, up until the most recent release in 2013, returning to this tradition with a portrait of Moueix returning.

The 1986 Dominus Estate has a dark garnet/ruby color, medium bodied, an aromatic floral nose, this wine shows elegance, finesse and excellent balance, a complex symphony of red and black fruits with layers of mineral, earthy leather, spice, truffle, hints of cassis and tobacco turning to a smooth, polished long finish with pleasant acidity.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1424

http://www.dominusestate.com/

Dominus Estate 2006 

Perhaps the Dominus 2006 reflects a change in style to produce wines that are more approachable at an early age, a popular trend to market wines favored by a larger audience. Or, the 2006 reflects the outstanding vintage with all the elements of terroir coming together. Dominus says, 'the 2006 epitomizes the best qualities of Cabernet Sauvignon in a top terroir of Napa Valley. At first, the wine displays tremendous power. Then, it surprises by the purity of the fruit and the lingering finesse. It clearly possesses a fantastic aptitude for aging.'

“When I drank Dominus 2006 in Europe recently, it confirmed what is for me the best definition of a great wine,” Christian Moueix declared. “This wine travels well. Dare I say that the 2006 vintage is our best so far.”

This release is incredible - a huge powerful forward wine that explodes out of the glass - rich concentrated, complex, a massive wine. Dark garnet/ruby colored, full bodied, brooding chewy mouthfeel that coats the tongue, ripe forward black berry fruits punctuated by a layer of chocolate, coffee beans, truffles and cigar box, turning to big chewy firm tannins that are tamed by being well integrated. This is a huge wine that begs for cheese, chocolates, beef and more - not for the feint of heart. Incredible, indeed.

The 2006 blend is comprised of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. No Merlot was used in the blend this year.

RM 96 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=528169

Joseph Phelps Insignia 2007  

Son Ryan said this morning, the morning after, its a pity to try so many spectacular wines all at once, they overshadow each other. Better to have one to enjoy it. Oh well. 

This is another incredible classic wine. This should serve as a benchmark for excellence, against which other wines will be compared. Its as near perfect as it can be. I remember doing the  cult  wine flight out in Napa several years ago and this is what it was like.

This is another Bordeaux blend that provides complexity and sophistication but punctuated by Napa Valley big bold forward concentrated fruits. 

This is elegance personified, silky smooth, polished, sexy, sensuous, the words can't do justice to this wine. Delicious. Memorable. Put some away to revisit again, and again and again. 

The blend of the '07 Insignia is Cabernet Sauvignon 88%, Merlot 8%, and Petit Verdot 4%.

RM 98 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=674245

Calera Ryan Vineyard Mt Harlan Pinot Noir 2013. 

As I wrote in these pages last week, this may be the best release of this label I have tasted, being by far the most vibrant and expressive forward fruits I can remember. 

Citing the metaphor of taking a knife to a gunfight, this Pinot Noir is no match for the bigger, more forward, firmer and tighter Cabernet Sauvignon based wines. Relatively speaking, it is big for a Pinot, but lighter and smaller than these Bordeaux varietal wines featured tonight.

This is not a wimpy wine but powerful, as Pinots go, yet smooth and polished, a symphony of concentrated dark berry fruit flavors with layers of black raspberry, black cherry, hints of cranberry, graphite and tones of tobacco leaf, spices of thyme, bay leaf and floral violets with a long lingering tightly wound fine grained tannins on the finish.

RM 92 points

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Vinous both gave this 95 points Vinous; Wine Enthusiast gave it 92 points and a Cellar Selection

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2041534

http://www.calerawine.com/

Constant Diamond Mountain Winery Diamond Mountain District Estate Cabernet Franc 2007

Our visit with Bill and Beth to the Constant Vineyards estate high atop Diamond Mountain was one of the highlights of our Diamond Mountain Appellation Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2011.

This was a great punctuation mark on the Bordeaux varietal wines as Cabernet Franc is used in the blend to add spice and highlights to the Cabernet and Merlot varietals.

This was bright dark ruby/purple colored, medium to full bodied, this was bright vibrant full forward black berry and currant fruit with a bold punch of sweet almost cinnamon spice accented by tones of mocha chocolate, soft sweet oak with dusty lush pleasing tongue coating lingering tannins.

RM 93 points. 

Bill's notes from Cellartacker - "Deep purple color. Light nose of fig and light floral aromas belie a wonderfully flavored Cab Franc. Opens with a bit of sweetness on the front palate, cocoa on the mid palate, silky tannins and a long lingering finish highlighted by cassis and a touch of oak. A wonderful accompaniment to smoky, bacon infused chowder and prosciutto wrapped, stuffed chicken breast in a sweet and spicy pepper sauce.

WCC 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=694548

http://www.constantwine.com/



Camiana Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Bill also brought this from his cellar. The wine is full bodied and dark inky purple color, the nose is perfumed with violets, cedar box and dusty earth, The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon flavors are complex, tight and dry, with big firm tannins masking the intense concentrated black berry and black cherry fruit accented with tobacco, hints of cassis and sweet oak.

RM 92 points. 

This wine is great now but should be laid down for five to 10 years.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1268057






.
For the dessert course ...

Alois Kracher TBA #12 Zwischen den Seener Scherube 1998 

Amazingly, the drinking window for this wine on Cellartracker is 2009 - 2027!

Brownish orange tea colored, full bodied, thick chewy, rich unctuous, concentrated sweet honey, smoky almonds, lychee, sweet ripe caramel apple, apricot, pear and balanced citrus acidity, the lychee, caramel/vanilla, orange blossom finish goes on and on.

RM 93 points. 

At 356 g/L of residual sugar, this has over three times the sweetness level of Coca-Cola but its fruit nectar essence makes for sensuous pleasant sipping.
 
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=40335